Should Musalia Mudavadi be William Ruto’s running mate come 2022 or should he go it all alone?
The Amani National Congress Party Leader seem to a man on demand right now with the race to the country’s top most seat seemingly taking shape.
Luhyia leaders led by former Kakamega Senator Boni Khlawale have called on Musalia to drop his 2022 bid and form a formidable alliance with DP Ruto.
According to Khalwale, Ruto is the candidate to beat and with Mudavadi as the running mate, the two are guaranteed of a win.
Mudavadi on the other hand thinks otherwise. According to the former VP, Ruto is his competitor and so when it comes to 2022 politics, they cannot work together.
“I’ve made it clear that the DP William Ruto is a competitor; we can remain friends but on this 2022 competition, we can not work together. I am telling Kenyans that I am offering myself when the time comes, to serve as President,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi also says that he prefers to see himself as the right candidate and not just a compromise candidate.
“I prefer to refer to myself as the right candidate and not the compromise candidate; ‘Compromise’ suggests that Kenyans preferred another candidate but settled for me. I am telling Kenyans I am here, and I firmly believe I am the right candidate,” added Mudavadi
Mudavadi was speaking during NTCV’s sidebar hosted by Ken Mijungu. Here, he also reiterated his remarks that the handshake has sort of brought laxity in the opposition with the opposition now accused of condoning rot in the government.
Mudavadi said that as much as the handshake brought peace and tranquility in the country, it is not a final solution to the problems facing Kenyans.
“Let us take time to understand ‘The Handshake’, while it has brought a semblance of tranquility it is not a final solution. The authors of this handshake need to convince the public that t wasn’t simply an agreement between two people,” said Mudavadi.
Commenting on Raila and Kalonzo’s new roles, Mudavadi pointed out that the fact that they (Opposition) are competing against the Jubilee Government, it will be difficult to keep it the government in check once one accepts it’s job offers.
“We were competing against the Jubilee government who now have the mandate. Once you take a government job, you are gagged in the spirit of collective responsibility. I want to be able to speak up when I see an issue in government,” added Mudavadi
On the state of the oposition, Mudavadi has insisted that NASA is not dead since none of the parties that make it up has formally exited.
“NASA is not dead; for the alliance to be dissolved three principle parties need to formally exit. So far none of the constituent parties has formally left the coalition,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi has also said that it is time opposition politics in Kenya were redefined. According to the ANC leader, this is not the time to engage in picketing and violence.
“It is time to redefine opposition politics in Kenya. This is not the time for picketing and violence; people are under pressure, businesses are collapsing, it is time to have issue-based discourse,” said Mudavadi.